Chapter 13

Proving Ground

Kagura…Sara…

These two females were inextricably linked to one another in their devotion to the demon lord Sesshomaru. They viewed him as perfection and so devoted themselves to this that his presence at their deaths had allowed them to find peace after such tumultuous lives.

To both of these women, he was the ultimate of his kind. No one more powerful. No one more beautiful. As such, it seemed fit to rest all of their dreams in him.

Sesshomaru pitied them. He pitied them to the point of allowing his pity to be known. To want to possess something which refused to be possessed was something he could relate to.

When he looked into Shinokiri's eyes he saw himself reflected back as only a byproduct of his father.

"Sesshomaru, you persist in defying me."

Inu no Taisho glowered down at his son who's eyes met his; not backing down.

"There are things I must accomplish before I will have heirs."

"You make waste of Shinokiri. I was too kind, I should have kept her for myself."

Inu no Taisho was calculated in this, and to the desired effect his son fell. Possessed by ire, Sesshomaru stampeded down the hallways—his eyes bloodied and wild. In his wake he left everything in his path disturbed, making a great performance out of his banging about the halls.

Shinokiri was at her writing desk. She lazily rested against the wall surrounded by correspondences littering her desk and the floor around her. Her yukata was light and airy and reflected her own sedate state, only to be ruined by a sudden surge of tension.

Sesshomaru near ripped the shoji to Shinokiri's chambers down. Pushing his way through, he caught her unawares; gripping the back of her head and pressing her face to the tatami. In a flurry of silk and paper, Sesshomaru struggled to push everything aside to expose Shinokiri's lower half.

She did not struggle. She only fixed her gaze into a distance nothingness.

"My lord, is there any particular reason for this barbarism?"

She winced as he entered her. Satisfied in his position within her he brought her head up by her throat to be closer to his own.

"I want him to hear."

Shinokiri let out a throaty sound of amusement. Half laugh; half moan.

"Whatever it is, your father has won already, Sesshoamru-sama"

This sped and deepened his thrusting. He growled through gritted teeth and stretched himself unnaturally to bite down on his mate's shoulder. The sinking of his fangs into her flesh forced her to let loose a tortured cry.

Sesshomaru tilted his head. Kagura…Sara…

The way the two had looked at him in their final moments. It formed a dull unquenchable ache within him. Their only failing was not being in the possession of the eyes he so desperately wanted to look at him so tenderly.

Sesshomaru felt his body slump against the base of the tree under which he rested. Upon a hill, thick with foliage, he found enough cover and vantage to look down at the goings-on of the village below. He felt sluggish, using the bulk of his yoki to mask his scent.

She won't be able to resist. It won't be long.

Rin narrowed her eyes at the large bundle in orange silk occupying the corner of the room. She had learned to tell, it was drenched in yoki, its aura invaded everything within the space and it scared her. Her gift scared her.

She'd be forever grateful to Shinokiri for providing it for her. So many people had come into the effort of protecting her, but she had nothing to offer them in return. However, the demoness had wrongly assessed her precautions in using it to its full potential as stoic reserve. In truth, Rin was petrified of the thing—of the power.

She made a note to get over this. She had to be brave. She had to prove herself as worthy.

"When you have proven to me that you fully comprehend what it is to own such power, then I shall give you access to all that it has to offer."

As Shinokiri explained this to Rin, the child could not help but be confused. The inu continued in understanding.

"As it is now, it is an unbroken horse. It does not recognize you as its owner. Its lack of limits makes it limited, in this sense."

Still not fully sure of what the older female was saying, Rin decided to nod anyway. She was sure that she'd get it in time.

As it was, the Oto no Joka Kabe let out it's yoki in bursts of energy without aim. It was like a wildfire. It held no understanding of focused attacks, instead, it simply destroyed anything in its path.

Rin aimed to work hard to tame it. She wrestled her eyes from the corner of the room to her normal unenchanted koto. It seemed small and unimportant, even with its fine lacquering. The tips of her fingers now bulged with calluses. She liked to practice both with and without picks to ensure the necessary dexterity and versatility of her fingers.

She paused. There was a great shift. A rumbling of movement moved passed Kaede's hut and in the corner of her eye she saw Kaede follow. Rin rushed outside as well only to be gently stopped by Kaede.

"Kaede-baba, is there anything I can do to help?"

The Inugumi could be seen rushing to action, weapons drawn, moving outside of the village.

"Go back inside Rin."

"Bu—"

"Don't be stupid, you're just a kid. Listen to Kaede."

Inuyasha's harsh tone was met with a menacing look from Kagome, but there was a consensus. Rin felt it. She slinked pack inside feeling useless as her friends poured out of the village to battle some unknown demon threat.

Her eyes returned to the bundle in the corner of the room. She had to be brave. The sooner she got accustomed to it, the sooner she could be of use. The sooner she wasn't just dead weight. A defenseless child hanging on to the mercy of those around her. Lucky and alive by virtue of powerful allies and not her own merit.

In a huff of energy, Rin grabbed the orange bag and strapped it to her back. It looked even more massive juxtaposed to her slight build, but she managed it well, running in the opposite direction of the action. She headed to the forest, to the meadow in the clearing where she and Shinokiri would go. She would make an attempt to master this thing unsupervised, without fear.

Picking an arbitrary spot on the ground she excitedly sat down and unwrapped the koto. She ran her hands on the carving of flowers covering the instrument, admiring it in suitable awe. She carefully laid it down and flexed her fingers over it, trying to steady herself.

Rin picked a simple and sweet melody which she knew well. She was playing it, and nothing bad was happening. Rin beamed as she continued to practice, but was stopped by a band and a whimper. Looking over, she saw a twitching and pained rabbit dying in the grass not far away.

The little girl jumped back away from the koto. That was what she had feared. Sure, she could play it, but what would stop it from hurting her friends over her foes. Slowly, she shuffled her body towards the dying animal. Laying her hands on the small trembling ball of fur, she began to cry. Feelings of failure and helplessness washed over her as the life slipped from the rabbit's body.

"Child, why do you cry?"

Rin's head perked up in recognition. "Shinokiri-hime!"

She sniffled and wiped away at her face as the demoness approached her.

"Is it your wish to tame this instrument now? Do you respect its power?"

Shinokiri stroked the nodding head of Rin and bent over, taking the child's hand into her own. The demoness gently squeezed the little hand and leaned her forehead into Rin's hair.

"Do you fear pain, Rin?"

Rin turned to face her, putting on a brave face as she shook her head no. She gasped as she felt Shinokiri's claws dig into her fragile little hand. The demoness then placed the hand over the instrument, letting the blood drip onto it. The koto began to shake and glow and from it a multitude of voices erupted.

"Is this the offering from my master? Who is it that I serve?"

Rin shakily spoke up. "Me. I own you."

She looked back at her mentor for reassurance. Shinokiri gave her a steady nod to settle her nerves.

"Then your soul is bound to mine…your will is mine."

Rin felt a pull towards it and lay her hands on the glowing koto and at once it settled and relinquished its animation.

"What does this mean Shinokiri-hime?"

"It will do as you desire it to now"

Rin looked down, befuddled.

"Why did you wait till now?"

Shinokiri closed her eyes and reached for the limp body of the dead rabbit nearby.

"I had to be sure of your character Rin. I had to be sure of your commitment. I can see into your heart, it is pure and gentle. You will not misuse power."

The demoness began to field dress the rabbit with her claws.

"The old priestess will be glad of your contribution to dinner."

The girl was too distracted in her thoughts to react. "So what now, Lady Shinokiri?"

"Play."

Rin made a motion to being to get up, as to distance herself with her instrument, but Shinokiri stopped her.

"No, just play."

Hesitantly, Rin took her nail and plucked a string.

Nothing happened. Rin's eyes widened and sought Shinokiri's.

"Does it no longer work?"

"It does what you want it to, Rin."

Rin giggled and clapped in excitement. She had control now. All of her fears wiped away so quickly. Shinokiri, to her, seemed to be the most magical creature she'd ever encountered. A colossal task—considering.

"Rin, return to the village."

Shinokiri and Rin both turned towards the woods startled. Out from the shadows stepped the demon lord of the west.

"Rin." He repeated her name sternly. The child clumsily packed everything up, not forgetting the cleaned carcass as she ran back towards her home.

"I'm impressed by how well you managed to hide your presence, my lord."

Shinokiri got up to leave but was pounced upon. Pinned down, with her hands above her in his grip, she had to once again make the unfortunate admission to herself that her mate possessed a far greater physical strength to her own.

Sesshomaru put all of his weight down upon her.

"How long will you continue this ludicrous farce?"

Shinokiri's eyes dug holes into his own, narrowing up at him. She did not struggle but was defiant in her gaze.

"I already explained this to you, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Now that you have fulfilled your obligations to my dead father you feel that you can shirk your responsibilities towards me. You have never once acted as my mate…only as an extension of him."

"All to your benefit."

"Peripherally."

Shinokiri bit down on her lower lip in frustration. This exchange was pointless.

"I have deserved, in all of my service, the opportunity to experience freedom."

"And do you no longer wish to serve as mother to my heirs?"

"Not if it means my dreams will be shackles. You are disingenuous"

Sesshomaru shoved his free arm between them and with much shuffling of fabric, he boroughed his fingers inside of Shinokiri most intimately. Her breathing quickened, this was not out of affection—it was a threat.

"Would you destroy something you've enjoyed so much?"

Her humor only thinly veiled her nervousness.

"If I can't use it, it has no value to me."

Shinokiri gritted her teeth but kept her eyes fixed on his.

"Fine."

His eyes glowed red. She had called his bluff. He shifted, keeping her pinned while exiting her. Repositioning the both of them he straddled her, keeping her arms to her sides with his knees. His claws threatened to dig into the back of her head as he took hold of her face with the soft end of his palms.

"You never were this obstinate with my father. Why?"

"When I see you as a deserving leader then you will have my obedience…Prove yourself to me."

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows in offense. "You forget your place."

Shinokiri relaxed into her pace of power, despite still being beneath him. Sesshomaru broke their staring contest to look towards the sky in disbelief as he continued to speak.

"I don't know you to be this mercurial…this inconstant. Before I had left you in the village—"

"Despite what you believe…your silly boyish competition with your dead father…my actions held you at the center, and in your insecurity and childishness, you have failed to keep me in mind. I am tired, Sesshomaru."

Shinokiri closed her eyes and sighed, carrying on, "There are many years behind us. We are bound by this. I know you feel the same…those women, the princess and the wind sorceress, I felt jealousy when I heard of your compassion towards them, but I know. I know. You are mine as I am yours."

"So what then."